Fly-tipping reaches new heights as landfill tax starts to bite

Fly-tipping of commercial waste is reaching epidemic proportions in the UK as businesses resort to underhand methods to avoid disposal fees and landfill tax, according to an industry expert.

Mark Hall who heads up commercial waste firm BusinessWaste.co.uk, said that fly-tippers tend not to be picky about where they leave waste, but most incidents occur in industrial estates, country roads and lay-bys and fields and woodland.

Housing estate garage blocks and even household bins are also used to dump illegal waste, he added.

"Unfortunately, while massive fines are a deterrent, the real problem is catching these people in the act, and with councils struggling for funding it has given the criminals the edge," he said.

According to Hall, the situation is being compounded by local government budget cuts, meaning that councils are increasingly stretched in the battle against fly-tipping.

"The squeeze really needs to be put on tradesmen and companies to prevent this kind of anti-social and behaviour," he said.

"While some simply avoid disposing of their waste to avoid paying fees, the real danger comes from those who fly-tip hazardous materials to avoid legal and financial difficulties."

Hall pointed to Hart Council in North Hampshire - despite being voted the area with the best quality of life in Britain for two years in a row, it has recently had to cope with 150 cases of fly-tipping between March and May of this year.